It is a new day,and Ariana is looking outside her window listening to the birds. Wanting to feel the sun's warmth, she approaches the window and touches the sunkissed glass. She begins to tear up, missing the outside, before Birger abruptly enters the room.

"Mr Birger, what brings you here?" , She asked, quickly wiping her tears away. "I already got my medicine for today, she adds." . He kneels to her level and gives her a pat on the head. "It's all right young one right now we're just going for a walk outside." 

Arjana's eyes lit up with excitement. "I can go outside, you really mean it!?" , She beams as she hops in place. Birger chuckles, "Yes young one, you've made a lot of progress since I found you. I feel that you are well enough to go outside." Arjana's heart soars, finally, she can go outside. She can't wait to finally feel the sun on her skin, to step the grass and feel the wind on her face. However, her joy is short-lived when she realizes that she did not have her shoes. 

"Oh no, I don't have my shoes..." , she whimpers to herself. Birger smiles before surprising her with two small sandals wrapped in a cloth. "You made me shoes?!", she shouted eagerly, taking them from the wrapping and putting them on. "I had planned for us to go outside and maybe get out days ago." , he explained. "It wouldn't make sense for me to have you go out barefoot now would it?"

 "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, let's go!", she insists ,tugging on his sleeve. "Alright youngin', hold on.", he says as they head outside to a bright and very sunny day. Arjana could hear the birds a lot louder now that she's not in the wooden cabin anymore. She spots the small puff dandelions growing in front of the house, and rushes forward to pick them. She quickly grabs one of the delicate flowers and blows on it scattering its seeds into the wind. She laughs with her face full of joy, and among her laughter, tears fall down her face.

Birger watches sadly as he didn't realize that he had kept her inside for a long time. "Poor child, this had to have taken a toll on her mental health.", he thinks as he watches her. Suddenly an idea comes to his mind.

 "Hey young one, I say we explore an old forest trail. I can show you the flowers that I picked for your medicine.", he suggests. Arjana gets done calming herself and wipes her face from the tears that fell. "A forest trail?" She asked as she approached him.

 "Yes there's a trail that I already marked out in the woods.", he explains, extending his hand out to her. "Fine." she says as she goes to his side. Birger and Arjana walk to the trail in front of the house, before Birger stops and kneels to her level.

 "Now listen here, youngin'.  When we go on this trail,there is going to be a set of rules that you must follow if you are to continue going outside with me." ,he says firmly. She nods and listens intently for his instructions. 

"Rule number one: Stay close by me. Rule number two: Don't go outside by yourself and especially don't go outside after dark. There should be no reason for you to be outside after dark on the trail." , he explains. "Another thing: If you are going to go outside and pick flowers, you can only pick the flowers in front of the house where I could see you. You are not allowed to pick flowers on this trail alone, some of them are poisonous and venomous. Now, my final rule is very important." 

He pauses for a minute before he gives an answer.

 "Whatever you do: If you see a stranger in the woods, run. You have to be careful, I don't want you getting kidnapped or worse." , he explains very seriously. "Is that perfectly clear?", he adds as Arjana gets very still. "Yes sir", she says almost quietly. Satisfied with her answer, Birger gets up and grabs her hand before they start walking on the trail. As they get deeper into the trail, Arjana starts to see an array of flowers that she has never seen back at home. She tries to reach out to smell a particular blue flower with purple spots on it but Birger holds her hand tightly. 

"Young one what are you doing!?"

"It's so pretty can I smell that one?

Birger sighs and instead moves her to the side as he approaches the flower. Arjana tries to approach, but he holds his hand up to stop her. Carefully, with his gloved hand, he grabs the flower by the base. This triggers a reaction in it, and spikes protrude from the stem. Arjana looks on in shock, had she had grabbed the flower, she would have been pricked by the spikes.

“This is the Deceitful Riviera. Looks pretty, but these spikes are venomous, and can pierce into tissue. The venom paralyzes you, and causes pain that lasts for three days.” He explains before pulling out his pocket shears and clipping the flower off. Arjana cautiously walks over to examine the flower as he holds it out to her. She sniffs it and suddenly it smells rotten.

“This flower smells sweet at first, but clipping the bud releases the odor of the venom in the sac near the top." , he explains before placing the flower in his item's pouch. Arjana is amazed at his knowledge of plants and their properties. Back home, she did have doctors, but none of them had the knowledge like Birger.

“Can you show me all the plants here?”, she asks, tugging on his tunic. “I want to make medicine too!”. Birger seems reluctant, but after pondering for a minute, he agrees. “Okay youngin' I'll teach you, but you have to pay very close attention okay?”, he says standing up and grabbing her hand.

----

An hour goes by, and Arjana would enjoy the walk along the forest trail. There were many Lilies and flowers of which she had not seen before. What's more, is that Birger would take her to a pond that had fish and waterlilies that were not native to her home kingdom. As they get further into the trail, Arjana begins to notice the sun beginning to fade out of view. Worried, she stops and tugs on Birger’s hand, before pointing to the sky.

“Mr Birger, it's getting dark, shouldn't we head back?” ,she asks worriedly 

He looks to the sky at the clouds before shaking his head.

“No, it's not getting dark, we're just getting close to the Cursed Mountain.”

“Cursed Mountain? Is that what it's really called?”

“No, just me. I get an awful feeling everytime I approach it. It's as if the world could capsize right at the peak.”

Arjana didn't understand what he was inferring. To her, it just seemed like a barren mountain, which was common around her home. Not wanting to stick around the mountain, Birger makes them take a route around the base of the mountain. While doing so, he shows her the markings that he mapped out around the base of the trees so that he doesn't get lost on his walks. Eventually, the duo would stumble upon a tall apple tree in a large clearing . Excited, Arjana runs over and begins picking as many apples that could fit in her arms. 

“Hey,Mr Birger! I can make a pie with this!” She exclaims happily as he slowly saunters over. Once he gets closer, she notices that he looks exhausted, as if he was about to pass out. 

“Mr Birger! Are you okay?!”, she asks with fear in her voice. “Yes, youngin'…. I'm fine, just haven't eaten breakfast today…” he says as he lets out a yawn. Wanting to help, Arjana begins shoving the apples into his hands.

“Here, eat this. You'll feel better, I know you will.” she says, trying to hide her panic. Slowly he takes the apples from her and eats, seemingly getting his strength back slowly. This calms Arjana, before she sits down and begins eating with him. Despite some setbacks during the walk, Arjana is enjoying herself immensely. It had been a while since she had been outside, so this little adventure made her feel alive once again. As she finishes off her apple, Birger gets up and begins to walk away. She quickly gets up to follow him but he raises his hand to stop her.

“Youngin', I'm just going to relieve myself. Stay right here and pick the apples until I'm back okay?” He says while patting her on the head. Arjana gets a bit nervous, but she figures that it shouldn't be long,so she nods in agreement. He gives a contented smile before walking over into the brush and out of sight. Shortly, Arjana resumes picking more apples, albeit more quietly this time around. Birger’s absence had made her uneasy, she was worried that someone or something, may come along to harm her.

----

Moments go by, and Birger still has yet to return. Arjana starts to get nervous as she waits at the base of the tree next to her pile of apples. She listens for any sign of him but nothing, nothing but the birds chirping and the sounds of the forest. Not wanting to be seen, she curls up into a ball to make herself appear smaller. The weight of isolation becomes unbearable and is made worse when abruptly, the forest becomes dead quiet. The birds had stopped chirping, and it was as if the wind had stopped blowing.

Standing up and now alert, the young girl looks around with her head on a swivel. Looking into the brush she finds nothing but dense forest stretching seemingly for miles. In a desperate attempt to get to a safe place, she tries to climb the tree. But alas, the base of the tree is too thick and she cannot get a foothold. Not sure where to go, she presses herself tightly against the base of the tree, having it act as some sort of lifeline in case danger were to show. As she looked around, there's still no sight of Birger, until a snapped twig, breaks the silence.

And that's when she sees it, a shadowy figure in the forest with strange protrusions from its head. She freezes as it appears that the figure had spotted her. Time stands still as neither of them move before the figure begins to move closer.

“Mr…Birger..?”, she calls out as she backs further into the tree. The figure did not stop moving and continued to press forward. Finally the figure steps into the light with the sun beaming down on it. The sunlight reveals what appears to be a man with long red hair and horns portruding from his head. His outfit is covered in thick shrubbery and brush, perfect for camouflaging in the woods. She freezes in place, paralyzed in fear from seeing such a creature. Arjana tried to open her mouth and say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Finally, he speaks.

“Are you here alone, human?” he asks in a raspy voice. Arjana remembers what her father told her about strangers; never let them know that you are alone. She doesn't want to speak to him, honestly, but she fears her silence may affirm his assumptions. 

“No, I have my papa with me.But he’s close by.” she answers,hiding the unease in her voice.

“....I see…”

The man stares at her before looking around cautiously, prompting Arjana to get behind the tree. She peers from behind its bark, making sure to keep an eye on the stranger. Suddenly, he scrambles to the forest floor and begins to quickly grab at the apples she had piled up. Arjana can do nothing but watch anxiously as the man takes a few bites out of one apple, eating the seeds and all. She watches in anxiousness and confusion before Birger would finally appear behind her,

“Youngin’ is everything alright?” he asks before settling his gaze upon the man eating the apples. He stares at the man with pity as he finishes his fourth apple.

“Mr. Thornbush…”, he says before he approaches the man. The stranger looks up in shock before he deflates in shame upon being seen by Birger.

“I…I’m so sorry…but I…I haven’t eaten in days..”, Thornbush admits as Birger helps him to his feet. 

“How’s your wife and child?”, he asks as he looks over the man.

“Starving…I…I usually get my food from caravans…but none have come through lately...”, he says sadly. “She…just stopped making milk today, and the baby is hungry..”, he adds with a shaky voice. 

“Birger….I'm scared, I don’t want to lose another child..”

“...Arjana…could you grab some more apples from the tree?” Birger asks. Arjana nervously steps from behind the tree. “Don’t worry, I know him. He won't hurt us…” ,he adds as he helps her up onto a nearby branch. She nods, before climbing up into the tree and dropping down some more apples. Thornbush gratefully gathers enough that he can carry in his arms while also stuffing a few in his pocket. 

“Thank you, thank you!", he beams gratefully. "Birger, is this child yours?”, he asks, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“No, she's just a patient of mine until I get her home.”

“....I see…well…if her parents don’t come for her, may we keep her? We mean her no harm, I just need someone to provide my wife with food.”, Mr. Thornbush pleads.

His question mortifies Arjana, making her hide behind Birger. Thankfully, he waves him off, ”No ... .but if you need food,Mr. Thornbush, we have plenty to share.”, he explains before grabbing Arjana’s hand and moving along back up the trail.

As they leave, Mr Thornbush shouts to out to them.

"Thank you! May the light bless you both!"

----

Minutes pass, and the duo have nearly made it back to the cabin. After what happened, Arjana was quiet, still a bit shaken by what she had seen.

“....Mr Birger, what was wrong with that man? Why did I have to pick the apples for him?”, 

“That “man” is an elf named Avvian Thornbush, a former patient of mine.” Birger corrects her. “He, like many of the other elves, is cursed. Elves can no longer hunt, harvest, or gather their own food. Despite the fact that elves can go months, even years without eating, many still starve to death.”, he explained before helping her up over a ditch.

"So that was an elf?!" Arjana asks in shock, “So as an elf,...he couldn't pick the apples himself?”

“Nope. Even if he attempted to make a grab for them, the apples would rot immediately. He was only able to pick them up because you touched them.”

Arjana stops to think, before remembering when the elfman had asked to take her home.

“What did he want with me?”,

“Well, elves kidnap women and children to have them gather food or grow gardens. That way, the their families won't starve, because with a human, they'll be able to get food.” he explains

“Why women and children?”

“Human men can overpower elves, especially since many of the elves are malnourished. Human men are also more likely to run away and come back with weapons to finish them off. Kidnapping women is difficult, but easier for the elves. Children are usually a main target only because they haven't been taught to hate elves depending on their age.”

“Oh…” she whispers uncomfortably.

As the cabin comes into view , Arjana can’t help but feel pity for the elf and his wife. She doesn't recall much about their conversation, but she did remember hearing him mention a child. The idea of them losing another child deeply troubles her when abruptly, a memory pops into her head.

---

She remembers walking into a room and seeing a woman all alone, crying. In one hand, she had a pipe, and in the other, a bottle of wine.

“Why doesn't he want me…?” the woman asks before downing the bottle.

--

Unbeknownst to Arjana, she had fainted again. Birger is in a panic because this time, blood is pouring out of the wound on her neck.